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Isaiah Bird is a special young man. At 7, he's already encountered a fair number of trials. He was born without legs and faced homelessness.

That, however, hasn't come close to stopping him. At Hofstra University, Isaiah participates in a wrestling clinic.

Wrestling coach and Long Beach Public Schools employee Miguel Rodriguez met Isaiah three years ago.

At the time, he thought it would be good to get him involved in wrestling.

Over the years Rodriguez has not only served as Isaiah's coach, but also as a mentor and role model.

“About 3 years ago, and he was playing basketball right next door to my school and he was just the cutest most hyper kid in the whole gym and he stood out right away,” Rodriguez said.

When the two met, Isaiah was living in a shelter with his mother, Bernadette. Miguel would have Isaiah stay with his family a few days a week, helping them get them back on track.

“I show him videos of kids that are really, really are struggling in life. I showed him video of a kid in Kenya, someone’s that is really, really having a bad and I tell him ‘Are you really having that bad of a day? What about this kid?’,” Rodriguez explained.

Not only did Isaiah pick up the sport quickly, he was good at it.

He placed third in states in 2014 and was just one match away from placing again this year.